All Things Mimi

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I have a good friend at work who is from the Jalisco region of Mexico. Lorenza grew up outside of Puerto Vallarta. Recently, she has been educating me on where to find the best Hispanic products and food in the valley where we live.

Aside from ruining my ability to ever eat Mexican food in Rifle ever again, her teachings have made me rediscover my love of Mexican food- both dining out and making it at home.

My husband, Will, is battling a cold for the second time in a row- which was the only excuse I needed to get in the kitchen and whip up some posole.

In my opinion, posole is to Mexican mamas what chicken noodle soup is to American/Southern mamas... pure comfort.

I make absolutely no claims of authenticity, nor do I believe this is the best way to make it. But it sure did hit the spot after a day of cleaning and craft projects!

Here’s the link to the recipe I used from a blog I read frequently called “Pressure Cooking Today.” I did not follow it exactly (big shock- I know) as I…

I have never in my life categorized myself as creative. I still don’t, really. However, I have discovered in my advancing years that taking time to be creative has great restorative power for me.

In the last year or so I have dabbled in lots of different artistic spheres. The two genres that seem to have stuck with me are working with glass and papercrafting. I’m not sure why this is true, as I don’t have a background in either area.

A distant third, but still a great creative outlet, is jewelry making. I take classes at my local craft store- Speckled Feather Mercantile. Every time I go, I learn a different technique, or work with a new material. Serious fun!

The downside to all of this creativity is its impact on my bank account. All 3 of these activities are expensive! I suppose what I spend on glass, polymer stamps, inks and other materials is still less than therapy? Maybe?

I've been taking jewelry classes at Speckled Feather Mercantile in New Castle, CO for a few months now. Although I was intimidated at first, I really enjoy learning new techniques, and the artist who teaches the class, Elyce, is one of the sweetest people I know. She is always able to put me at ease, and so far, has been able to undo whatever bone-headed mistakes I have made.
This particular class was great because I knew all the basic skills and was able to do it independently and even help a few people out.
I love the look of sea glass, and I'm happy to have a piece of jewelry in my collection made out of it. The fact that I made it myself is a bonus!
To make these pieces, all I had to know how to do was make a wrapped wire loop, and how to open and close jump rings- that's it! Now I have a beautiful set- a pendant and matching earrings! These would make awesome gift sets...
If you live near New Castle, CO, and you are interested in art classes- you owe it to you…

So I have no talent for arranging flowers. I love flower arrangements, but flower arranging is not my superpower.
However; sometimes you just accidentally trip over something really beautiful. I was in my backyard watering my mint and basil plants when I glanced over at a neglected bed of herbs. Almost all of them had gone to seed. The parsley, in particular, was stunning. I also noticed the chive blossoms and chamomile seed heads.
It occurred to me that any or all of those might make a cool flower arrangement.
So, I went inside, grabbed some bottles I'd tucked away for just such a project, procured the scissors, and set about creating.
Would anyone mistake them for professional arrangements? No. Did I bring them inside and tuck them around my house? Yes.

I love shrimp and grits. If I see it on a menu somewhere, I usually order it. If that menu is at a restaurant in the South, I'm usually not disappointed.

I've made this before, but I never make it the same way twice. I wanted to try to make the grits in my Instant Pot, so I looked on Pinterest to find a basic recipe. I read it, ignored some of it, and proceeded to create supper.

Here's the link to the recipe I found. I trust the lady that writes the recipes for this site, and if I'm looking for Instant Pot advice, I go here first.

This is what I did differently...

Her recipe calls for 3 cups of water and 1 1/2 cups milk or cream. I used 2 cups of tomato juice, 1 cup water, then the 1 1/2 cups whole milk. If heavy cream was in my icebox, I'd have used it as well. She put all the butter, cheese, and liquid in the pot at once, then cooked it. I chose to put the juice, water, and milk in, cook the grits, …

There are obviously many things to enjoy about summer. Cooking is one of my favorites. Making creative meals at a leisurely pace is a luxury that rarely occurs during the school year.
This is my first leisurely breakfast creation of the summer. I had leftover roasted sweet potatoes, so I threw them in my trusty cast iron skillet with some rough-chopped red onion and breakfast sausage. Devin likes his eggs scrambled. I like my hash topped with a fried egg. Either way you go- it was a suitable First Breakfast of the Summer!